NJ court declines advocacy group's request for Dinky site

The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined an advocacy group’s request to review a ruling which would remove the Princeton Branch (“Dinky”) Station on University Place, as a historic site.

“We knew this was a long shot,” said Anita Garoniak, President of the railroad passenger advocacy group Save the Dinky, Inc., “but the decision will have no effect on our other cases which we will pursue vigorously.”

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In August, in order to make way for a mega extension to the campus, the former Princeton University stop for the Dinky, was shut down and a temporary station was opened nearby.

However, according to the advocacy group, the Dinky Station was listed as a historic “operating passenger railroad station” in 1984 and NJ Transit should have secured a formal approval from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) before agreeing to the University’s request to move the station.

“We argued that the Court should take the case to clarify that the terms of the Register of Historic Places Act require a meaningful review and cannot rest on the alleged terms of private contracts negotiated without public participation,” according to the group’s rebuttal on their website.

Late last week, the group lost another battle to preserve the station. The court denied an application which questioned if a federal review of the transferre of property should have occurred.

“Whatever the reason, the result is disappointing since the record is clear that NJ Transit leveraged permission to encroach on the historic station by relying on a position about the 1984 contract that the Chancery Judge ultimately found was an incorrect position.”

The planned $330 million Arts and Transit Project, consisting of education buildings, shops and restaurants, is expected to be completed in 2017.

However, the Dinky advocacy group continues to fight the encroachment with two additional court cases.

One challenges the zoning approvals the university received from the former Princeton Borough. The other is a challenge to the June 2014 decision by New Jersey Transit’s Board of Directors, that authorized its staff to transfer the easement covering the Dinky property to the University in exchange for an easement of lesser of value.

“New Jersey courts have never overturned an approval to encroach on a protected historic site,” said Princeton attorney Virginia Kerr.

“We thought it was worth it because the Dinky station was listed as historic it was an operating passenger railroad station, it was fully functioning, and the plan to destroy it was made to accommodate the expansion plans of a private university with no obligations to respect historic values or to serve the public’s mobility needs.”

About the Author

After being laid off from American Express, Sherrina went back to school and got a masters from C.U.N.Y. She isn't scared to ask tough questions and enjoys getting the story behind the story. Reach the author at Snavani@trentonian.com
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